1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an insertion tool to be interfaced with a turret-type punch press, or the like, and in which a plurality of captive or clinch nuts are stored and from which said nuts can be efficiently and automatically inserted into holes formed in a sheet metal workpiece.
2. Background Art
It is common in the sheet metal industry to pre-punch a series of holes into a workpiece, such as that used to form a chassis in the electronics industry. Well known fasteners, such as captive or clinch nuts, are then manually positioned, by a workman, in each of said holes. Next, the sheet is located below a suitable punch press, and the press is moved towards the workpiece to press said nuts, one at a time, into respective holes. With a nut feeder system, an operator can typically insert approximately 450 nuts within one hour of work.
However, the manual technique for inserting captive nuts into holes through a sheet metal workpiece is inherently inefficient. That is to say, the speed and reliability by which a workman can properly position and insert the nuts will vary with time. Moreover, if the workman incorrectly positions a nut in a hole, the punch which installs the nut could be damaged upon impact. Likewise, the nut may be misaligned with the axis of the hole when such nut is installed, making it difficult to insert a bolt therethrough. All of the foregoing contributes to waste, increased scrap and a correspondingly larger cost of assembly.
It would therefore be desirable to replace the conventional manual technique for installing captive nuts into a sheet metal workpiece so as to increase the speed, accuracy and consistency of such installation while reducing the cost and waste associated therewith. To this end, it would be desirable to accomplish the foregoing by means of an insertion tool in which a large supply of captive nuts can be easily stored and from which said nuts can be expelled, one at a time, and at a high speed, for reliable installation into the workpiece. It would be further desirable that the insertion tool be interfaced with a conventional punch press so that the operation of installing the nuts can be fully and efficiently automated.